J&K: Landline services on more than 50,000 phones restored in Kashmir, says report

Seventeen out of the more than 100 telephone exchanges are now operational, authorities said.

An Indian paramilitary trooper stands guard in Srinagar on August 4, 2019.
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AFP

Authorities in Kashmir restored services on over 50,000 landline phones in 17 telephone exchanges in the region on Saturday morning, PTI reported. The phone lines had not been operational for more than 10 days.

The 17 exchanges included those in Srinagar district’s Civil Lines, Cantonment and airport areas, central Kashmir’s Budgam, Sonamarg and Manigam districts, and north Kashmir’s Gurez, Tangmarg, Uri Keran Karnah and Tangdhar areas. In south Kashmir, landline services were made operational in Qazigund and Pahalgam.

Twenty more exchanges will be operational soon, officials told PTI. Restrictions on movement of the public were eased in Kashmir Valley on Saturday morning to facilitate the movement of government employees.

Meanwhile, 2G mobile internet services have been restored in five of the 10 districts of Jammu region, according to ANI – Jammu, Reasi, Samba, Kathua and Udhampur.

All communication lines were snapped in Jammu and Kashmir on August 4, a day before the central government revoked the state’s special status and split the state into two Union territories. These territories will come into effect on October 31. While restrictions were lifted in Jammu earlier this week, Kashmir Valley has been under an unprecedented security and information clampdown. Several political leaders, including former chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, are under detention.

Earlier on Friday, the state administration said restrictions in the Kashmir Valley would be eased in the coming days “in an orderly way”, and that 12 of the 22 districts were now functioning normally. The administration said preventive detentions were being continuously reviewed and that “appropriate decisions will be made based on law and order assessments”.